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Saturday, 21 July 2012

Asian shares were a tad weaker on Friday but were poised for their biggest weekly gain since January as strong U.S. corporate earnings lifted the S&P 500 to a 2-1/2 month high, although a firm yen kept Japanese shares on the backfoot.

U.S. stocks rose this week, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posting its first back-to-back gains since June, as earnings from International Business Machines Corp. to Baker Hughes Inc. beat estimates and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said he’s prepared to add stimulus.

The Nikkei eased 0.3 percent to 8,770.30, holding above i ts five-day moving average at 8,754.34. The benchmark is still up 0.5 percent this week after dropping 3.3 percent last week to log its biggest weekly fall since mid-May.

Oil rose to an eight-week high in the previous session, gaining for seven straight days as escalating tension in the Middle East and disruptions in output in the North Sea stoked supply fears. A strengthening of the dollar after a recent slide is also supporting crude futures.

The most active November copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 0.6 percent to 55,910 yuan ($8,800) per tonne, pushed down by Shanghai equities amid thin trading volumes. Shanghai copper is up 0.8 percent on the week.

Gold hovered near $1,580 per ounce on Friday as investors clung to hopes for more monetary easing from the U.S. central bank after weak data in the previous session, but a dollar rebound will likely cap gains.

U.S. stocks rose this week, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posting its first back-to-back gains since June, as earnings from International Business Machines Corp. to Baker Hughes Inc. beat estimates and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said he’s prepared to add stimulus.

Friday, 20 July 2012

Asian shares were a tad weaker on Friday but were poised for their biggest weekly gain since January as strong U.S.corporate earnings lifted the S&P 500 to a 2-1/2 month high,although a firm yen kept Japanese shares on the back-foot.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday for a third straight day, with the S&P 500 at a 2-1/2 month high as earnings from technology companies as well as hopes for more monetary stimulus outweighed weak economic data.

Benchmark 10-year note yields are trading only 8 basis points higher than a record low of 1.44 percent set on June 1, which was tested again earlier this week when surprisingly weak economic data spurred new bond buying.